1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to the field of delivery mechanisms for supplements, such as nutritional supplements or other materials thought to have medicinal value, which delivery mechanisms comprise placing the supplement in a food-based substrate which is designed to enhance the supplement.
2. Description of Related Art
It is an old adage in medicine that the only difference between a medicine and a poison is in the amount consumed. Recent medical science continues to confirm this general proposition. Certain materials when consumed in relatively small quantities are “medicinal” while consumption in larger quantities can be detrimental (e.g. red wine). Alternatively, certain materials which are commonly present in food (e.g. vitamins) when provided in significantly greater quantities than is normally present in food can provide increased health benefits.
One such material where the latter appears to be true is cinnamon. Cinnamon is believed to act as an appetite suppressant as well as providing other health benefits when taken in a sufficient dose. Cinnamon is also currently used in a variety of food items such as cereals, breads, candies, and cookies as a flavoring. However, the inclusion of cinnamon in these foods as a flavoring is in a relatively small dose. While there may be some limited health benefit from ingestion of this cinnamon, flavoring, and not health benefits, is the primary purpose of its inclusion in these products and in most the percentage of cinnamon is insufficient to provide for any meaningful benefit without undue consumption of the food item.
In the utilization of cinnamon for health benefit, the cinnamon is generally separated from a foodstuff and provided in a more “medicinal” format such as a tablet. This is because the amount of cinnamon needed for health benefit is generally significantly more than would be used in a recipe. It appears that, to provide for medicinal benefit, cinnamon should be taken at a rate of 1 gram per day or greater. Typical dosage is then provided as two one-half gram doses, or one full gram dose, via a commercial capsule or tablet. These supplements are designed to be swallowed because they generally contain concentrations of cinnamon far in excess of the amounts used for flavorings. Such a dose is thought to act as an appetite suppressant as well as providing for other health related benefits specifically related to digestion. These benefits include, but are not limited to, improved glucose metabolism and improved blood sugar maintenance. Such a concentrated amount, if it was to be used as a flavoring, would often be overpowering for many traditional cinnamon flavored food items and give them an unpleasant taste with a heavy bitterness or tartness. It could also cause a burning sensation or choking response.
Cinnamon's use as a flavoring is well understood and while this can provide for a pleasant taste, the amount used for flavoring is generally in quantities either so limited as to not have a significant medicinal benefit when a normal amount of the foodstuff is consumed (for example one or two standard servings), or, if the foodstuff was consumed in greater amounts, the negative impact from consuming such a large quantity of the other materials in the foodstuff would generally counterbalance the medicinal benefit of the consumption of cinnamon and may introduce other health risks such as those present from consumption of an overabundance of calories and/or fat compared to the recommended daily intake for those items.
Many of the items made with cinnamon as a flavoring are also sweet and usually relatively high in calories. Therefore, eating large quantities of these foods will generally serve to counteract some or all of the cinnamon benefits or possibly pose undesirable health issues (including dental issues), especially if the product containing the cinnamon were to be consumed on a regular/frequent basis (e.g. daily or more than once daily), as would be necessary to gain some medicinal benefit from the cinnamon.
As one ready example, the consumption of cinnamon is believed to have appetite suppressant effects and assist in controlling blood sugar if consumed in amounts above 1 gram per dose. However, a foodstuff using cinnamon as a flavoring generally includes only a small percentage of cinnamon and also includes a relatively large amount of fats, sugars and other undesirable food elements which would counteract the nutritional benefit as an appetite suppressant and increase blood sugar by adding additional sugar to the diet. Consumption of such foodstuffs to gain the benefit of an appetite suppressant would therefore be generally contraindicated. Therefore, these products do not serve as an effective method for cinnamon delivery.
There has recently been a push to provide for supplements in a more consumable as opposed to medicational form. Children's chewable vitamins are a basic example of these which have existed for many years. Specifically, they have provided the supplement (in this case a vitamin supplement) in a form which is designed to be eaten and has an acceptable taste as opposed to simply being swallowed. This form is still, however, in many respects medicational. The product is not really a consumable “food” but is simply a tablet in a chewable form that then has an artificial flavoring added to cover the taste of the supplements.
The taste and consumption profile of these chewable tablets does not try to provide for a desirable consumption experience, but to disguise the “medicational” nature of the supplement in a form that is still essentially a tablet. Because of this, strong tasting artificial flavorings are commonly used and the structure is usually selected to provide for a minimal eating experience. In effect, the vitamins are simply made chewable to make them capable of being eaten by an individual who is likely going to be taste adverse to the straight supplement and is unable (or unwilling to attempt) to safely swallow a standard tablet.
Outside of chewable vitamin, a number of supplements have also tried to use food substrates as carriers. Many of these utilize placing the supplement into chocolate or into something that is effectively candy (e.g. a “gummy bear”). While this can make the supplement a desirable treat or snack and increase willingness to consume the supplement, in many cases the food support is detrimental to the user. In the case of such candies, the benefit of taking the supplement may be present, but consumption of these may have other negative effects (such as introduction of a large amount of refined sugar, fat, or caffeine).
Cinnamon and a number of other supplements (such as but not limited to ginger), can also have other significant problems in being used with the above food delivery systems. For one, they have very strong tastes and therefore when provided in a chewable form, the taste can overwhelm any flavoring designed to cover them up or provide for an unpleasant interactive taste. Further, cinnamon, in particular, has a benefit of having effects related directly to food consumption and digestion. This benefit is lost if the cinnamon is provided with too significant a food substance because the carrier, in effect, counteracts some or all of the cinnamon's benefit. Therefore, including cinnamon in a solid chocolate, high fat, or high carbohydrate carrier could, in fact, provide little to no benefit or even be detrimental to the desired purpose of taking cinnamon in the first place.